Surfboards are large and awkward to transport and store. They are also valuable and light enough to be easily carried away. Some of the surfing community devote little time to earning funds. Consequently, valuable surfboards are often left exposed and unattended where they are then easily stolen by surfers short of funds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,861 issued Jul. 7, 1992 to Ross and 4,712,394 issued Dec. 15, 1987 to Ross teach a lockable cable that passes through the surfboard. A large hole is cut in the body of surfboard to accommodate a sleeve through which the cable passes in effect damaging the board and altering its properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,680 issued Jan. 13, 1998 to Wroble teaches a complex three piece surfboard locking assembly (FIGS. 5A,5B,5C) that adjustably engages the board with two hook members one from each side meeting a third member that encircles only the base of a central fin. One lock holds the assembly to the board and an attached cable may be locked about a secure object.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a very simple and easy to use assembly to secure a surfboard to another item so that it not easily stolen. Surfboards are generally made with one or more fins that are removably attached by one or two fasteners to the underside of the board. They are readily detached for transport and replaced when damaged. They may also be replaced when different performance is needed. The surfboard may be tethered to any non-portable item such as a light pole, truck, or bicycle rack with a lockable cable passing through a small hole in the fin. The hole is not large enough to affect performance, but the fin is readily detached. This leaves the owner with a fin and the thief with the board, needing only a fin. It is an object of the invention to provide a system of securing a surfboard to another item by a lockable cable that passes through a small hole in the fin. It is another object that the system prevent a thief from removing the fin from the surfboard without seriously damaging the board itself.
The system of the invention comprises a not easily destroyed rigid sleeve that is adapted to slide over one fin. A flange at the base of the sleeve extends over the one or more fasteners that fasten the fin to the board. A hole in the sleeve and a hole in the fin are in registry when the flange rests on the board, thereby covering the fasteners. A lockable cable passes through the holes to secure the board to a non-portable item. The thief cannot detach the fin because the fin fasteners are rendered inaccessible by the flange. The cable passing through the fin and the sleeve must be removed by unlocking the cable lock before the surfboard can be moved. The cable is made to be cut resistant like the cables used to lock bicycles and the like.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent when the detailed description is studied in conjunction with the drawings in which like elements are designated by like reference characters in the various drawing figures.